In deep water operations, certain operational considerations make it desirable to offload hydrocarbons from a production and/or storage facility by running a pipeline to an offshore loading system such as a shuttle tanker, either directly or via a so-called CALM buoy (CALM=Catenary Anchored Leg Mooring). Deep water installations, e. g., in depths greater than about 300 meters, require that the pipeline be suspended between the production and/or storage facilities and the shuttle tanker, rather than running the pipeline along the sea bed.
The state of the art includes WO 0208116 A1, which describes a system for transferring a load from ship-based production and storage units to dynamically positioned shuttle tankers. The system comprises a loading hose which, during a loading operation, extends between an end of the ship-based unit and a bow manifold on the tanker, and which is stored on the ship-based unit when not in use.
When the tanker is loading, the loading hose hangs in a catenary configuration between the vessel and the manifold on the tanker. In such related art systems, the separation (distance) between the tanker and the vessel is typically about 80 meters.
It is presently a desire by ship owners and operators to increase the separation between the hydrocarbon storage facility and the shuttle tanker considerably, primarily due to safety considerations and operational flexibility. Separation distances of about 250 to 300 meters are being discussed. Such increased separation distances will increase the weight of the hose and require a reinforced pull-in and connection equipment aboard the tanker, in order to handle the loads imposed by the loading hose catenary.